The Great American Read by PBS

27 Jun The Great American Read by PBS

The Great American Read by PBS

By: Jennifer Harmon

Earlier this year, PBS announced its Great American Read initiative, a program designed to explore our collective love of reading while examining America’s “Best-Loved Books”. PBS, after conducting a nationwide survey, composed a list of what may be considered the most-loved novels, ranging from classics like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to more contemporary works like Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn or The Martian by Andy Weir. This diverse list contains books from a mix of genres and age groups, with children’s and young adult books represented as well. View the list here, along with a checklist so you can see how many of the 100 you have read.

The Great American Read program kicked off with a launch episode on May 22. Viewers were invited to read widely from the list throughout the summer, voting for their favorites on the PBS website. The episodes will resume on September 11, with a recap followed by a series of episodes that explore shared themes in literature such as Who Am I? (Sept. 18), Heroes (Sept. 25), Villains, & Monsters (Oct. 2), What We Do For Love (Oct. 9), and Other Worlds (Oct. 16). The episodes will explore why these books matter, examining the stories through what they have in common and what it says about us that we love these books so much. During the finale episode on October 23, America’s top ten favorite books will be counted down, with the show culminating in the announcement of the Best-Loved Book.
Join the fun! Both the Fishers and Noblesville Public Service desks have displays with books from the list, making it easy for you to find them throughout the summer to participate. Keep reading and voting – you can submit one vote per day per email address!

On Monday, October 22, we are having a “Share Your Top Ten” book discussion. Comb through the list of 100, decide what you think deserves to make the top 10, and come share your list with fellow book lovers! This event will be held at 7:00 PM at the Noblesville Library.

What is America’s Best-Loved book? The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho? James Patterson’s Alex Cross series? Harry Potter? We will find out in October. In the meantime, keep reading and voting!